Three Times the Charm
by Settiai
Summary: Tora didn't know how to convince them it wasn't anyone's fault. :: Bea/Guy/Tora


"This is all your fault!" Bea shouted as she stormed into their headquarters, pulling so hard on Tora's arm that she was all but dragging her.

Guy was just a few feet behind her, a stormy look on his face. "The hell it was!" he yelled back. "I was doing what you told me to do! Not that it did any good. If you hadn't-"

"Oh, don't you dare try to blame this on me!" Bea spun around, forcing Tora to turn with her.

"Who else would I blame it on?" Guy asked, glaring at her.

Tora cleared her throat. "Um, Bea? Guy?"

Neither of them paid her any attention. "If it wasn't for you, they never would have got close enough to hit Tora!" Bea yelled.

Guy clenched his fists. "You mean, if it wasn't for me you'd be a shiny smear on the concrete. I'm the one who stopped that guy from pounding you into the ground, remember?"

"Oh, please!" Bea rolled her eyes. "I was handling myself fine without your help."

"Guy," Tora said, raising her voice a little. "Bea."

It was as if she was invisible.

"That's what you call handling it?" Guy asked, snorting. "Well, that explains a lot. I'm surprised you haven't got her hurt a lot more than this."

Bea dropped Tora's arm, and she practically launched herself at Guy. He caught her fist before she could punch him in the face, and with a snarl he shoved her away from him.

"Stop it!" Tora yelled.

Both of them froze in place, turning toward her with identical looks of surprise on their faces.

"Just- stop, please?" Tora's eyes were suspiciously bright as she glanced between the two of them. "I'm fine, really."

Bea snorted, but her hands were gentle as she walked over and gently touched the still darkening skin around Tora's left eye. "You're not fine," she said. "Half your face is going to be bruised by in the morning. And it's all-"

"It's not Guy's fault that I got hurt," Tora snapped. Bea pulled back as if she'd been slapped.

Guy grinned.

"And it's not her fault either," Tora said, glaring at him. She could feel tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, and she blinked furiously trying to keep from crying.

His grin faded.

"I'm not a child," Tora said, moving her gaze between both of them. "I'm a member of the Justice League too, remember? It's not your jobs to protect me."

Without saying another word, she turned and stormed down the hallway. Neither of them said anything as she did.

* * *

Booster and Ted both stared at Tora as she walked into the kitchen a minute or so later. Neither of them said anything, but it was obvious that they'd heard everything that had just happened.

Trying not to start crying, Tora walked past the two of them and came to a stop in front of the sink. She let the water run for a moment, staring at the stream, before she cupped some in her hands and splashed it on her face.

"I'm guessing your mission wasn't quite as simple as Guy and Beatriz thought it would be?" Ted guessed. His voice was soft but still much closer than Tora expected it to be.

She stiffened a bit, not surprised to feel his hand gently rest on her shoulder a second later. He hesitated at her tension, pulling his hand away quickly.

"You could say that," Tora said, reluctantly turning off the water. Taking a deep breath, she turned around so he and Booster could get a clear view of her.

Ted flinched. Behind him, Booster - who was still sitting at the table - hissed in sympathy. "That's going to hurt in the morning," he said, shaking his head.

Tora nodded, a wry smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I suspect so."

"What happened?" Ted asked. He walked over to the table and sat back down, gesturing toward the empty chair between him and Booster with his hand.

Tora wavered for a moment before taking the offered seat. She shrugged, reaching up to gently prod at the growing bruise on the left side of her face. "I didn't duck in time," she said, trying to keep her voice light. "I don't see why everyone is making such a scene. It's not the first time someone on this team has walked away from a fight with some bruises."

Ted smiled. "Yeah, but it's you. And, you know, it's them."

Tora tilted her head. "What does that have anything to do with it?"

Ted opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off when Booster elbowed him in the side. Then Booster glanced at Tora and raised an eyebrow. "Do you really expect us to believe you don't know how they feel about you?"

She felt her cheeks grow warm, but she didn't say anything.

Shaking his head, Ted elbowed Booster back. Then he gestured toward the door with his hand. "Go on," he said. "Max will strangle us all if he comes back tomorrow and finds out that Bea and Guy killed each other while nobody was looking."

Tora closed her eyes. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right.

* * *

They weren't fighting.

Eyes wide, Tora stopped in the doorway to Bea's bedroom. She had been expecting the worst when she heard the yells and muffled thumps coming from the room, and she had been mentally preparing to have to throw herself between the two of them to keep them from killing each other.

She hadn't expected to find them half-stripped out of their uniforms, Bea pressed against the far wall as Guy kissed her. His pants were gone, tossed haphazardly on the floor near the door, and there was a bulge at the front of his underwear that was barely covered by the cloth. One of his hands was wrapped tightly in Bea's hair, pulling on it enough that Tora knew it had to hurt.

Tora stepped into the room, quietly closing the door behind her. The light was on in the room, so they didn't notice the lights from the hall suddenly no longer shining in.

Bea groaned, reaching up to roughly rub at Guy's cock through his underwear. He bucked into her hand, breaking their kiss and moving his mouth down toward her neck. Their eyes were open, but they were focused completely on each other - neither of them even glanced toward where Tora was standing.

She still felt as if she was invisible. Tora just wasn't certain whether it was better or worse than before.

Guy made a sound halfway between a cry and a moan, and Tora felt a flush of heat in her stomach. Without a sound, she reached down between her legs and gently rubbed. A light wave of pleasure pulsed through her, and her breathing hitched a little.

Tora didn't think didn't think that she had made a sound, but she must have. On the other side of the room, Bea suddenly looked up. Her eyes went wide, and she suddenly shoved Guy away.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed. Then he followed Bea's gaze, and all of the color suddenly drained from his face.

"Tora?" Bea asked, her voice almost hesitant.

Tora's face was flushed, her eyes bright despite the bruising on her face. Biting her lip, she met both of their gazes.

Then she smiled, her hands coming to slowly undo the clasps on her uniform.

Guy's eyes widened, his face flushing a bit. Beside him, Bea brought her hand up to brush some hair out of her face, a startled look still on her face.

"I don't need the two of you to protect me," Tora said quietly. Unclasped, her top dropped to the floor. "And I don't want the two of you fighting because of me."

With only a slight hesitation, Tora walked across the room. She leaned up to press a chaste kiss again Guy's lips, pulling away before his brain had a chance to catch up and turn it into something more. Then she turned and gave Bea a similar one, leaving their lips pressed together for barely more than an instant.

Guy reached out suddenly, gently touching the bruise on her face.

Tora grabbed his hand, pushing it away. "I'm fine," she said firmly. "It's just a bruise."

"But-" Bea reached toward her, stopping at the last second when she saw the look on Tora's face.

Tora took Guy's hand with her left hand, squeezing it lightly. Then, without letting go, she grabbed Bea's hand with her right hand.

"I'm fine," she repeated.

She pulled Guy and Bea's hands up, bringing their hands and hers together just in front of her chest. Then she let her gaze drift between the two of them for a moment, smiling slightly, before suddenly dropping their hands.

Her next two kisses weren't nearly as chaste.


End file.
